The best wiring in a home is known as structured cabling, which runs Ethernet cabling from a central hub in the house to various points around your home.
The current ethernet cabling standard is CAT6, although many homes have older CAT4 or CAT5 ethernet cabling.
The difference in performance is primarily around the distance of the cable length before the speed of service starts to degrade. Most homes will not notice any performance difference between CAT4 and CAT6 cabling. It is unlikely to be necessary to upgrade existing Ethernet cabling, but check with AB Electrical before deciding.
Structured cabling is an enormous advantage for homes which have UFB fibre internet services to the house. The modem/router connects to the Chorus ONT (Optical Network Terminating Unit). Distribution of internet services from the modem/router to rooms or devices is through the structured Ethernet cabling or via WI-FI.
If the Ethernet cabling has been damaged behind your walls in any way, then the integrity of the data service is likely to be compromised and will either provide a slower grade of service and/or intermittent/no service. Either way, it is very frustrating for end users.
This can occur when renovations or minor building changes have been carried out. Something very simple could also cause damage, such as hanging a picture by banging a nail or screw into a wall. Behind that wall there could be structured cabling running to a room, and the nail or screw might damage the cabling and the integrity of the services across the cable.
AB Electrical can test the integrity of the cable and the throughput speed. If there is a fault, our equipment can also identify where the fault is within the wall. This is important as we want to avoid customers spending money on replacing the ‘easy stuff’ that you can see, while the fault could be hidden behind the wall.
Nobody wants to pull gib off the wall just to see if we have a damaged Ethernet cable or damage, but using modern technology we can identify where, or if there is a fault behind the walls.
Typically, structured cabling runs Ethernet cabling to locations throughout the house, typically where TV’s and Computers are located, office, bedrooms and lounges.
With the emergence of much-improved WI-FI and the predominance of wireless devices proliferating in the (Smart Phones, tablets, IPads, laptops), the demand for Ethernet ports throughout a house has reduced, as many wireless devices cannot connect to the internet via Ethernet cabling (wireless only devices).
Modern TV’s are often 4K or 8K. These streaming TV’s demand good internet to deliver a good quality picture. Therefore Streaming TV’s should be connected by an ethernet cable and not connected via WiFi.
If you have concerns about your internet wiring connections in your home, give the team at AB Electrical a call -0800 688 244
